r/SASSWitches

I've almost used up a reed diffuser, and the little jar the liquid comes in is made of thick good quality glass. Throwing it away feels wasteful, and I have good associations tied to it (that garden rose scent was amazing), so I thought I'd repurpose it for a spell jar. But I've never done one before, so I have a ton of questions about how people here like to do those.

- How do you know when you've "used up" a spell jar and don't need it anymore?
- What do you do with contents you no longer need? Throw away, dispose in a way that feels more "proper" (bury, burn), store somewhere?
- Do you reuse the same jar when you no longer need old contents?
- What are some of your favorite components to use in spell jars?
- Do you prefer to use more "traditional" components (e.g. plants and/or crystals that are traditionally considered as having some power), or just wing it and work with personal associations?
- Have you ever used anything with expiration date as a jar component? How did it go?

I know I can just come up with my own rules (and probably will end up doing that lol), but I was curious to hear everyone's experiences and favorite things to do. The concept is very new to me, so it'll feel a bit more secure to tread this ground after hearing your stories.

I wanted to use more herbs and plants in my craft. I already use common spices and herbs from spice cabinet, but I wanted to try using plants from my own backyard, instead of buying herbs online. The iNaturalist app is great for identifying plants growing around where I live, and then I look up how they are used in witchcraft. Now I’m learning a lot more about the plants around my house, and I feel a lot more connected to the spells and charms I’m making because it’s from my own backyard. Also, I’m contributing to citizen science as a bonus! Win/win!

I have cleanse and protected myself, but i’m looking for someone who can read spells and energy

Hey guys, I’ve always been very interested in witchcraft, paganism etc… but I don’t know the differences between all these things and I find it very hard to start learning about it. I’m looking for some tips on how to start with this and maybe some (online) friends to help me because I want to take this seriously. Any tips?

A question for women and femmes ~

(Not sure if men can be witches? I’m new to this!)

• What is the relationship you have between your gender and your witchcraft?
• Does your gender inform your practice? Does your practice inform your gender?
• Does witchcraft make your gender more expansive, or does your gender make your witchcraft more expansive?

I’ve just started reading Braiding Sweetgrass, and I’ve just been thinking about the power of Nature and how feminine I believe Nature is. This had me wondering if any of you have put thought into this or my questions above and what those thoughts may be 😌

Curious to hear your thoughts ⛈️🌱

I consider myself a very rational person, and personally I'm of the opinion that there's no way to prove if God exists, so I make do with what can be scientifically proven. Which is why I love this subreddit.

I recently took an edible for the first time, and it was a very positive experience for me. My "weed self" was very creative and loving and made sure to record a bunch of videos for me later, telling me how much I love myself. This is great because self love is something I have been working on in therapy for many years.

Something that came up quite a lot when I was high, was my weed self telling me to get an "exorcism"? Basically I think that my subconscious is telling myself to excise the self-doubt and fear of the past few years and purge it from me. The last year I was practically bed ridden and this year has been a huge change for me in all aspects.

I do consider myself a SASSwitch, but I rarely find myself being able to do or stick to rituals or things that I would like to incorporate in my life without feeling silly and woo. I'm looking for advice about how to structure this particular "exorcism". I want it to be an event like maybe 1 or 2 hours, but I find myself struggling to figure out what I should do in the actual event. Any tips appreciated!

I want to do something with a coincidence that happened to me today, and would love some advice.

I was walking out to my car and found a little robin's egg in the grass near my driveway. At first I wondered if it needed to be put back in a nest, but then I realized it was empty. It's a striking, bright blue, almost unblemished, except for two little holes where the hatchling must have come out.

I immediately thought of my upcoming appointment with a fertility clinic. I've never tried to get pregnant before, and I hope very much that it will happen quickly once I get some sperm in there, but I'm rather nervous about starting the process, finding the right sperm, and anything that might go wrong. This egg is feels like a fitting symbol for my pregnancy hopes, and I want to figure out a ritual to perform with it. I've seen spells that involve crushing eggshells, but I'm very taken with the near wholeness of this egg and its hollowness makes me think of my womb waiting to be filled. Maybe I should find something very small to put into it or create some kind of display.

I'm still quite new to witchcraft, so I would love to hear anyone else's ideas on how to work with this!

it's late at night and idk if this post fits in here or not but i thought it'd be nice to just appreciate how awazing it is that if given time, resources, and care our bodies know how to mend an incredible amount of wounds! you may not know how to litterally make more skin but your body does! it also knows how to create bones! and it makes broken ones stronger than before! is that not incredible that we have a built in healing spell of sorts?

this was partially inspired by the pist saying that life is just an old complicated spell

Hi Everyone! I recently posted here and found there were many in our community that would be interested in collaborating on a shared resource for SASS witches. Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/SASSWitches/comments/1uhlabj/communitycompiled_grimoire/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1

To get the ball rolling I have drafted a few guiding principles. Many also mentioned they’d like to see an example before contributing themselves, so I went ahead and wrote-up an introduction defining some of the core concepts as I understand them. None of this is set in stone! Please share feedback on what you like and what should be changed. Please also share some additional topics that need to be tackled (even if you are not the one planning to tackle them in the end).

Next steps will be to incorporate the feedback provided and find someone who will be willing to do a full peer-review of what I’ve written up. As others start to write-up topics, please follow the same process: post a thread to get public comment, find a peer reviewer, then we can begin compiling things together. I suppose we will need to work out an acceptance process for what is considered final, open to ideas about that.

Goals:

1. Create a shared resource for both experienced and beginner SASS witches to expand their practice.
2. Collate the knowledge of the community
3. Form connections among community members.

Core Guiding Principles:

1. All content should be secular, meaning it does not require belief in a particular faith or creed.
2. All content should be well-supported by scientific evidence and clear citations.
3. All content should be made open for public comment as well as peer-reviewed for quality.
4. All discussion and activities related to the project should adhere to community guidelines.

Proposed Peer Review Process:

1. Content should be posted in a thread inviting constructive commentary and additions.
2. After opportunity for public comment, a peer reviewer should perform a private review to verify: information is present fairly and accurately, information is supported by citations, information aligns with the core guiding principles, information is free of grammatical errors, information meaningfully incorporated public feedback from the community, and information doesn’t contradict what has been previously accepted.

SASS Witchcraft Introduction: Secular, Agnostic, Science-Seeking (SASS) Witchcraft is a magic practice that centers scientific evidence and doesn’t require belief in the supernatural. The acronym used also embodies the prevailing attitude of SASS witches. Secular in this case suggests a practice that is “not overtly or specifically religious” (Merriam-Webster. Secular.), but in being agnostic it also means that the practice does not necessarily exclude those who do believe in the supernatural. Rather, the idea is that as a science-seeking practice, it should equally be useful for any who may wish to participate, as it is based of off objective scientific evidence.

SASS witches challenge themselves to be intentional in their practice, to research what they are doing and ask key questions: Why am I doing what I do? What is my goal for each working? What evidence is there that my practice will actually affect the world? In trying to meet the standard of evidence-based practices, understanding and overcoming personal bias becomes important. Often SASS witchcraft requires practitioners to reinterpret traditional witchcraft practices in the context of scientific evidence. It may limit what one can do in light of the available evidence. Individual witches may disagree on how much their practice needs to reference specific evidence, and how much one can operate in the gray areas. SASS witchcraft is always personal to the practitioner, as all witchcraft must be, but community engagement may be especially important to SASS witches in generating ideas, overcoming personal bias, and getting perspectives outside of one’s own.

Definition of Magic: In SASS witchcraft magic is defined as simply influencing the world through one’s will. A working, spell, potion, or ritual is the conduit by which one exerts their will on the world. It does not expect bright flashes of light, balls of fire, or supernatural forces. Magic often operates at the level of the mind and consciousness, but may also be found in what otherwise could be mistaken for the mundane: a reduction in bodily inflammation from steeping tea from an herb, performing small rites of superstition to feel protected, or meaning-making through intuitive interpretation of everyday signs and patterns.

Placebo Effect: The foundational concept to SASS witchcraft is the placebo effect. The placebo effect is “a clinically significant response to a therapeutically inert substance or nonspecific treatment (placebo), deriving from the recipient’s expectations or beliefs regarding the intervention.” (APA, Placebo Effect). In other words, a placebo effect is a response to a treatment that cannot be explained by the treatment itself. It comes from one’s own mind and body, based on what you believe will happen as a result of the treatment. Traditionally, the placebo effect is measured when doing clinical trials for treatments and drugs. Participants that receive the control (i.e. a sugar pill), still have a measurable response to the treatment, despite the fact that the treatment didn’t include any actual medicine.

What does this have to do with witchcraft? Research has also shown that when the participant knows they are receiving a placebo (termed an open-label placebo), there is still a positive response. Said simply, even when we know there is nothing to the treatment, just the experience of receiving the treatment is enough to have a positive impact. This is where witchcraft enters the picture: SASS witchcraft often seeks to take advantage of the idea of an open-label placebo effect in the practice of magic. By working a spell, the SASS witch relies on the idea that the very act of the spell will have an effect on them, even if they may not know for sure or believe at all in the supernatural power of the spell to work, they do trust in the placebo effect.

Recent research into the open-label placebo effect has support this idea. A meta analysis conducted in 2025 found that “OLPs appear to affect self-report and objective outcomes differently. While OLPs have a beneficial effect on self-report outcomes across both clinical and non-clinical populations, they show no effect on objective outcomes” (Fendel et al. 2025). This suggests that, in witchcraft open-label placebo can help us to influence our mental perceptions of a situation, even if it cannot physically change our reality.

Another key findings relevant for witchcraft is that “the suggestiveness of the treatment rationale in OLP interventions is crucial, as trials lacking suggestive elements did not yield significant beneficial effects.” This means that if we believe in the power of the open-label placebo and our magic, it will be more effective. The study outlines the following ‘suggestive elements’ as typical for open-label placebo: “(1) the placebo effect is powerful, (2) the body is automatically responding to placebos, (3) a positive attitude towards palcebos is not necessary, and (4) adherence to the placebo regime is important” (Fendel et al. 2025). Reinterpreted in terms of magic, this means a) we need to understand the potential for a placebo effect, and b) we need to follow-through on the design of the spell for it to work.

In a sense, any spell or working that is meant to influence one’s own mental state or attitudes can take advantage of the placebo-effect. Many practices within SASS witchcraft are to do just that: get motivation to stick to a new routine, move beyond a past love interest, feel confident in one’s ability to be successful in a new endeavor. These types of workings are about feeling better, more confident, and/or ready to move on. This type of working is supported by current research into the placebo effect. Limitations to the placebo effect-based workings would be to physically heal an ailment, curse an enemy, or cause someone to fall in love.

Evidence-based Practice: While the placebo effect serves as the jumping off point for SASS witchcraft, it is only the start. Any practice that is supported by evidence can be incorporated into SASS witchcraft. In order to be a SASS-aligned practice, a practitioner must begin by investigating what the current scientific evidence says about any practice they are interested in undertaking. If the practice is not supported by evidence, it is not a SASS practice. That is not to say it still might not be a valuable part of an individual witch’s practice, just that it is not SASS.

To develop a SASS practice, it is useful to think in terms of ‘evidence-based practice’ (EBP). EBP a model used by medical practitioners to make sure they are providing the most effective treatment to their patients. EBP is defined as “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients” (LibGuides: Evidence-Based Practice Guide: What is EBP?). While SASS witches are not doctors, they do seek to do the same: integrate, to the best of their ability, prevailing scientific evidence to support their practices.

The steps of EBP include (adapted for witchcraft from LibGuides: Evidence-Based Practice Guide: What is EBP?) :

1. Asking: Asking includes converting a puzzling into a question. What is it you are trying to achieve? What practices are you considering?
2. Accessing: Searching to find evidence to support the practices you are considering. In this process you may find the practice you’re considering is supported by scientific evidence (see placebo effect above), or it may mean you find other alternatives that are supported.
3. Appraising: One of the most important steps is evaluating your sources. Is this coming from a reputable source? Is it recent? Does it apply to your question?
4. Applying: Now that you have found research to support a practice, how does the research suggest the practice can be made most effective? How might you adapt the practice in light of the evidence?
5. Assessing: Try the practice and see how it works. If it’s not working for you, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

Bibliography: American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Placebo effect. In APA dictionary of psychology. Retrieved July 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.apa.org/placebo-effect

Fendel JC, Tiersch C, Sölder P, Gaab J, Schmidt S. Effects of open-label placebos across populations and outcomes: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 15;15(1):29940. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-14895-z. PMID: 40817381; PMCID: PMC12356945.

LibGuides: Evidence-Based Practice Guide: What is EBP? (n.d.). https://utsouthwestern.libguides.com/ebp

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Secular. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved July 3, 2026, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secular

I've procrastinated heavily on my full moon ritual because I'm struggling. I feel like I'm faking it. Lately, whenever I engage with my practice, I end up judging myself for escaping into a fantasy world I don't actually believe in and then I judge myself that I can't simply let myself enjoy my fantasies. I don't seem to get anything but aesthetic pleasure out of my ritual utensils at the moment and I'm kind of afraid of betraying myself.

This might be heavily influenced by my current life circumstances. There's just nothing happening. I've been living very isolated for about a year now, spending my time with arts and deep dives into my intellectual interests. It's great overall. I'm quite content with just existing and loneliness has become very rare for me because I enjoy my own company so much. It just makes it hard to stay connected to my craft because there's not much to reflect upon. It's hard for me to find any intentions to set and I don't want to force myself to do so, but not doing it also feels like giving up on actively creating the life I want and falling back into passive indifference. Even meditating is like torture at this point because I constantly feel like waiting for something to happen - whatever that means.

If anyone relates, what are your go to practices in times like this? How do you stay in touch with witchcraft in everyday life, when you're basically all by yourself? What are some thoughts that allow you to hold on in times of doubt?

Hey guys. So, I believe I'm a baby witch, despite not exactly having the chance to learn about the whole concept yet. I don't really know what's right or wrong, nor what's for what. I hope this makes sense.

Though, I have done some manifestation, and focused solely on "love ritual", like self-love, and cleansing, by just using basic ingredients like bay leafs, rosemary, etc. Just with what I have.

The main point of this post is that, I wish to know the consequences of doing a ritual born from hatred. Typically, a ritual wishing a horrible end upon a human. Yes. I know this is very illegal but as a Burmese, the hatred I feel whenever I see posts of citizens dying because of war while this man, Min Aung Hlaing, continue to live without consequences... Not to mention how I'm unable to return to Myanmar, how most young teenagers like me had to leave our country without finishing their studies, just because they feared being drafted to be part of his sickening military.

Even if it isn't death, at least a horrible luck for him would be a blessing for Myanmar. Though... what I fear is my own safety. I do not know if it's the same as movies, where the caster suffers the same fate. To be completely honest, I'm not about to sacrifice myself just so a horrible man like him can die a horrible death.

Please do not take me the wrong way... And I do hope I could also learn more about being a white witch in general. Or maybe, just a witch I could go for the service I want for him. :)

Thanks!

Hello all, I've been going down a bit of a rabbit hole today and was wondering if anyone here has any insight. For context: I wouldn't say I'm a very spiritual person but I'm interested in studying different perspectives and understanding why so many people connect with moon cycles and spirituality.

This week overall has been really strange for me, I've been experiencing very vivid dreams every single night and noticing a lot of weird coincidences and synchronicities. Overall just feeling very strange. I got my period today and I've been researching red moon cycles but all the YouTube videos I've come across honestly feel very vague.

For those of you who are more knowledgable about spirituality and moon cycles / feminine energy:

1- Does getting your period on a full moon have any significance, and if so, what does it signify?

2- Could the vivid dreams and constant coincidences be related or am I just reading too much into it?

3- Are there any books/podcasts you'd recommend that dive deeper into this?

4- Is this something worth exploring from a spiritual perspective?

I'd also love to hear if anyone has had similar experiences with vivid dreams or synchronicities or changes around their menstrual cycle and the full moon. I would love to learn and hear different perspectives.

there's so many resources, and it feels really overwhelming so far. currently, I'm studying the Tarot with a book a professor recommended to me, and it's been really helpful. how do I make sure I don't get overwhelmed

I grew up Hindu, which is a deeply ritualistic religion. But it’s also thousands of years old, so a lot of the original symbolism behind the rituals has gotten lost over generations. What’s left often felt mechanical, going through motions whose meaning nobody could explain to me anymore.

My religion is flexible enough that it let me drift toward something simpler: trusting and surrendering to one higher power, and letting go of a lot of the “rules.” I’m a theist, but not someone who needs every belief locked down or unquestioned. I also won’t dismiss science to hold onto a belief.

I got curious about witchcraft because I’m intuitive and do think there’s something, call it magic, call it whatever, running under the surface of things. But the deeper I went, the more I noticed the same pattern as my upbringing: a lot of emphasis on doing the ritual correctly, not much on the person doing it or why.

Finding this sub has been a relief. I’m not atheist or agnostic, but I also can’t operate on blind faith or unfalsifiable claims. I’ve mostly felt like I don’t fit cleanly into any one box, too skeptical for traditional spaces, too believing for skeptic spaces. Curious if others here came from a strict ritual tradition and ended up somewhere similarly in-between.

a little bit of background first, i grew up christian in the USA cause it was my parents religion but now im atheist because i just dont really believe in stuff that's unprovable.

so why would i ever care about withcraft you may ask? because i think it could have some good effects on me eve if i dont really believe in what im doing in the same way. while i absolutely dont know a lot from what i've seen witchcraft is very focused on rituals, connections, intent, and knowing your feelings. i think genuinely trying to learn about and practice witchcraft could be a good way to learn how to take care of myself better in other parts of my life. i also think i could find connections in olderess corperate holidays like Yule and Samhain, it'd also encourage me to learn to cook healthier meals that are alsl in season.

however i can also see why it could rightfully considered disrespectful to practice without having true belief in it even if you're just doing it for yourself.

Would anyone be interested in compiling a public Grimoire as a SASS community?

I’m imagining a few little essay write-ups on various topics. Definition of SASS. Placebo effect. How to do a mini-lit review to support your practice. Frameworks for designing spells/rituals. Summarized explanations of common branches of witchcraft. Guides for “secularizing” woo-y practices. Personal Grimoire writing.

Also maybe compiled science-supported wellness practices with a SASS spin. Mindfulness/meditation. Grounding. Forest-bathing. Placebo effect. Journal magic.

Not even imaging something super formal. Like we could even just start a thread to compile things. The only thing I think that would be important is required citations from good sources that support what has been written with a peer-review process.

Hey everyone, new to this board but so happy I found it! I never knew there were likeminded people out there :)

I am looking for a specific recommendation. I have a strong interest in mental health, and as a yoga teacher I have read a lot about meditation and similar practices. I am interested in learning about rituals and practices through the ages and how they connect to what we now know about mental health and psychology. What I mean is, we know AZS about our brain and how psyches work, and now we can explain why ritual/ practice SDF was so widespread or useful or effective.

Would love to hear your thoughts, and thank you for the wonderful content you share here :)

hi again, i wanted to ask what some reliable resources on starting to learn witchcraft are? i barely know anything to the point where i don't even really know what sigils mean what or what common rituals are, led alone how you enchant something.

in short what are some resources i can look into for a bare bones, from the ground up, dummy's course to learning how this all works?

It's hard to find books not filled with woo and pseudoscience. Old threads for books have been archived and many are years-old. I think it's time for a new one!

Please leave your favorite SASS-Witch book recommendations below!

They don't all have to be 'Witch' related but those are probably the ones we all want to see the most.

I'd also request we please not promote any Gen-AI written books/authors for this list.